When I set
off on the Coast to Coast in 2004 it had originally been the intention that my
wife, Gemma would accompany me and we would stay at B&Bs. However, despite a
lot of training, she was, at the time, not confident that she could complete it.
Since then we have often discussed walking it and her fitness has improved
enormously, It was our intention in 2009 to spend a few days away walking and
in August we made the decision to make a start on the Coast
to Coast. The plan was to walk from east to west as this has the
advantage of easier walking at the start enabling you to build up your fitness
before tackling the Lakes. Our plan was to walk from Robin Hood's Bay to
Richmond over a period of 7 days and only then to decide whether and
how far to continue. With some difficulty I managed to book B&Bs for
this section of the journey but we would also take sleeping bags/mats and
a tent so that in the event we were to continue camping when and were
necessary would be an option. The downside was the additional load with me
carrying around 18kg and Gemma a substantial 9kg. We would set off for
Robin Hood's Bay on Friday 11th September 2009 and start the walk the following
day.